1. science
2. medicine
3. surgery
4. transplants

Teacher’s Guide
Table of Contents
Exhibit Overview
Page
3
Your Visit / Field Trip
Page
6
Active Learning Log Hints
Page
7
Active Learning Log Worksheet
Page
8
Active Learning Log Answer Key
Page
9
• “Calcium Collage” (Grades K-4)
Page
11
• “Sketch a Skeleton” (Grades K-4)
Page
15
• “Bendy Bones” (Grades 3-5)
Page
19
• “Heavy Metal” (Grades 5-8)
Page
25
Classroom Activities:
Note: Additional Resources are listed at the end of each Classroom Activity
This guide was developed at OMSI in
conjunction with Bone Up On Bones,
an OMSI exhibit.
Funded by
Regence BlueCross/BlueShield of
Oregon (Regence BCBSO).
Comments on how to improve this activity from teachers and students are welcome.
Please send to [email protected]
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
2
Exhibit Overview
Want to keep moving? Every move you make depends on the 206-odd bones in your body, yet
you hardly notice them until something goes wrong. Discover the marvels of the human skeletal
system and get an inside look at what makes up bones in Bone Up On Bones, a hands-on health
science exhibition developed and produced by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
(OMSI).
This exhibition explores the connection between bone health and overall well being through
hands-on interactives, an eight-foot bone sculpture, a fiber optic display, microscopic bone
images, real bone specimens, audio and video components, computer-based activities, and
impressive bone illustrations.
Visitors learn that bone health contributes significantly to their general health and that there are
ways to positively affect bone strength throughout life, particularly during childhood and
adolescence. Designed for families, school children, and adults of all ages, Bone Up On Bones
explores bone physiology, bone function, osteoporosis, and the importance of calcium, vitamins,
and exercise to build and maintain bone strength.
Introduction
Why Bone Up On Bones? Want to Keep Moving?
This introduction panel gives an overview of the importance of bones, what they need to stay
healthy and last a lifetime, and that it is never too early or too late to start taking care of your
bones. Find out that bones act as body armor to protect your vital organs, are the framework that
support your body, and allow you to stand upright and move around. Realize also that bones are
alive and repair themselves, and that they require calcium, vitamins, and exercise to build and
maintain their strength.
Bone Physiology and Function
Bonescape: Your Living Bone
Stand beside a giant, colorful, eight-foot cutaway sculpture of a human femur and get an inside
look at the amazing architecture of living bone. Trace veins and arteries as they snake through
the bone’s inner cavity and learn how blood vessels supply nutrients to, and carry wastes from,
every bone cell. Discover how tendons attach muscle to bone, ligaments attach bone to bone, and
cartilage cushions and lubricates the surfaces where bones meet. See the compact, concentric
rings and honeycomb-like spongy tissue that combine to make bones strong, yet light.
Sticks and Stones: Bones Break! Bones Heal!
Examine X-rays of various types of bone fractures (compression, avulsion, stress, greenstick,
comminuted, and pathologic) and determine how the fractures occurred and how they can be
treated to heal properly. Learn that your bones can withstand very major damage and can heal
more completely than any other part of your body.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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Joints: Where Bones Meet
Compare the different types of joints in your body and how they work by manipulating an
anatomical and mechanical model of each of the following: thumb (saddle joint), foot (gliding
joints), knee (hinge joint), shoulder (ball-and-socket joint), and neck (pivot joint). Discover how
joints allow your body to move freely, how the skeletal joint is constructed, and that there are
different kinds of joints that determine the type and range of motion for particular bones.
Computer Stations
A large skeleton hangs over the computer area, which features three identical computer stations,
each offering the same selection of interactive programs about bones:
1. Bone Trivia – Click onto various areas of an interactive skeleton and find out the names
of the different bones in the body, as well as some general information and fun trivia
about each area.
2. Bone Building – Set variables such as your age, calcium intake, and lifestyle and note
how these factors influence the density of your bone. Watch how bone breaks down and
rebuilds itself at the cellular level by viewing a computer simulation of this remarkable
process. Identify what foods are high in calcium and assess your individual calcium
intake by answering a series of questions.
3. Bone Diseases – Select from a list of some of the more common and interesting bone
diseases and learn what the disease is, who gets it, what the symptoms are, and how it’s
diagnosed and treated.
4. Assess Your Risk – Take a personalized bone health quiz to assess your individual risk for
getting osteoporosis and discover how such risk factors as gender, age, diet, weight,
exercise, and genetics can effect your chances. A doctor specializing in osteoporosis then
“talks” to you about the results of your bone health assessment quiz and gives you some
general and personalized information about nutrition, exercise, risk factors, and
prevention. You can even print out your “action plan” and take it home with you.
Body Puzzle
See the skeleton in context with the rest of the body by putting together a puzzle of the human
body. Observe the proper placement of bones in the body and that they are surrounded by and
connected to muscle. Appeals to younger visitors as well.
Spare Parts: Total Hip Replacement
Explore what happens when a hip joint wears out and is replaced by an artificial joint. Learn
about the process of hip replacement surgery by viewing actual video footage of the operation.
Examine an artificial prosthetic and an actual human femur that has undergone hip replacement
surgery and notice how the bone has grown around the steel of the artificial hip.
Osteoporosis and Prevention
Am I Losing My Bones?
Get an overview of osteoporosis by reading this large, three-sided graphic panel. Each panel
focuses on a different theme:
1). About Osteoporosis - Learn what osteoporosis is, why it occurs, what the symptoms and
consequences are, and who’s at risk.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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2). Living With Osteoporosis - Peruse the biographies of five women with osteoporosis and
how it has affected their lives.
3). Diagnosis and Treatment - Explore how the disease is diagnosed, treated, and prevented.
Bone Tower
Stack a hollow bone up to the top with rods that represent calcium. Then push out the rods one
by one and see how much “calcium” you can lose before the tower collapses. Observe that losing
a little calcium will not make your bones weak right away, but, if you lose enough, your bones
could break very easily. Appeals to younger visitors as well.
Never Too Early, Never Too Late
Choose from three different videos:
1). Them (not so) Dry Bones – Check out an animated, playful song geared toward younger
visitors that provides basic, pertinent information about your bones: they hold you up;
protect your vital organs; are connected to your body by ligaments, cartilage, muscles,
and tendons; and need calcium to keep them strong.
2). Bones In Motion – Observe X-rays of bones in motion and get an inside look at parts of
your body in action: foot, wrist, spine, knee, elbow, hip, fingers, and shoulder. You can
even watch a skeleton play the guitar and sing into a microphone.
3). Bone Building – Bones are alive and constantly building and rebuilding themselves. View
footage from an electron microscope that demonstrates this process of renewal and
witness new bones being made and older bones being destroyed. Did you know it is
estimated that the human skeleton is completely rebuilt every two years?
Your Calcium Bank: Preventing Osteoporosis
See how lifetime factors and habits affect the relative density of bone at age 60 in this fiber-optic
display that simulates changing bone density. Set the factors that influence bone density (gender,
lifetime calcium intake, heredity, and lifestyle) and watch “bone cells” light up a femur. Change
one or more of the variables and observe how that increases or decreases the density of the bone.
Discover there are ages when calcium intake is particularly important to maximize “peak bone
mass” potential and that there are recommended levels of calcium intake at different ages. By
eating calcium-rich foods at any stage in life, you can reduce your future risk of osteoporosis.
Lost Bone: Which Femur has Osteoporosis?
Compare two actual human femurs and see if you can determine which one is healthy and which
one is osteoporotic. Then lift each bone and feel the difference in weight. Notice how light and
fragile the osteoporotic bone is and how much more likely it would be to fracture.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
5
Your Visit / Field Trip
Educational research (yes, you can get a Ph.D. studying field trips) has identified the following
recommendations for making the most of your field trip.
Before the Trip
•
Student knowledge of field trip setting and agenda is important.
Studies suggest that children in a novel environment initially focus their attention on
learning about the setting rather than the instructional material. Prior information about
the trip agenda (how we will get there, where we will park, what we will see, what we
can buy, where we will eat, etc.) will enhance your students’ educational experience. In
one study, this kind of information enhanced learning more than prior information about
the subject of the exhibit (of course, both are valuable)!
•
Prepare students with pre-visit activities.
See the Classroom Activities section of the guide for ideas related specifically to the
exhibit. Pre-visit activities can also include vocabulary words, reading and writing
assignments, classroom projects, and related activities found in existing textbooks and
recommended resources.
•
Prepare your chaperones.
Check with your field trip destination for specific expectations, such as number of
chaperones per class. Before a trip, inform your chaperones about the purpose of the visit,
behavior expectations, and your school’s policies.
During the Trip
•
Have students use the Active Learning Log.
The Active Learning Log (A.L.L.) is a great alternative to a conventional scavenger hunt.
The questions help keep students focused and involve them in deeper exploration of the
exhibits. The A.L.L. is available on the following pages along with an answer key for
teachers and chaperones.
After the Trip
•
Follow-up with post-visit activities.
Post-visit activities help to connect the museum experience to the classroom. Exhibits at
the museum may spark curiosity or interest, which can be taken advantage of back in the
classroom. You can also use the A.L.L. as the basis for a follow-up activity.
•
Help us evaluate your museum experiences.
Your feedback is vital for our evaluation and improvement of our exhibits and other
educational offerings. Please share your comments with us during your visit. In fact,
please send any comments from teachers and students on how to improve this activity to:
[email protected] Thank you!!!
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
6
Active Learning Log
Hints
The active learning log may be copied and used by individual students or by small groups. For
small groups, direct the students to work as a team to complete the activities. For younger
children or non-readers, adult chaperones can assist with reading and recording responses.
Remember to supply pencils!
•
Hint 1: If you hand out worksheets to a large group, tell some to start in the middle and
some at the end. If a particular exhibit is crowded, visit one of the other suggested
exhibits to explore.
•
Hint 2: Customize your worksheets for your class. Cut and paste from any of the activity
pages to make a worksheet just for your class.
•
Hint 3: Provide students with a writing surface (clipboard, notepad, etc.) with a pencil
attached to it.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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Active Learning Log
Worksheet
Name:
1).
Give one example of each type of joint.
Where is it located in the body?
Type of joint
Location in the body
(Visit: Joints)
2).
How can you keep healthy bones?
(Visit: Your Calcium Bank, Am I Losing My Bones?, Why Bone Up On Bones?)
3).
Where is red marrow located? What does it do?
(Visit: Bonescape)
4).
What does osteoporosis mean?
(Visit: Bone Tower, Am I Losing My Bones?)
5).
How is a bone with osteoporosis different from a healthy bone?
(Visit: Lost Bone, Am I Losing My Bones?)
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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Active Learning Log
Answer Key
Name:
1).
2).
Give one example of each type of joint.
Where is it located in the body?
Type of joint
Ball-and-socket
Gliding
Hinge
Pivot
Saddle
(Visit: Joints)
Location in the body
Shoulders, hips
Ribs, feet, hands
Knees, elbows
Elbows, base of skull
Thumb
How can you keep healthy bones?
[Exercise, get enough calcium and vitamin D, and avoid smoking and excessive drinking.]
(Visit: Your Calcium Bank, Am I Losing My Bones?, Why Bone Up On Bones?)
3).
Where is red marrow located? What does it do?
[Red marrow fills the spaces in spongy bone and produces red blood cells which carry
oxygen throughout the body.]
(Visit: Bonescape)
4).
What does osteoporosis mean?
[Porous bones.]
(Visit: Bone Tower, Am I Losing My Bones?)
5).
How is a bone with osteoporosis different from a healthy bone?
[An osteoporotic bone has lost minerals, making it less dense and more easily fractured
than a healthy bone.]
(Visit: Lost Bone, Am I Losing My Bones?)
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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Classroom Activities
Bring Bone Up On Bones to school with these hands-on classroom activities. They can be used
before or after your field trip. Grade levels are intended as guides only.
Activities
•
Calcium Collage (Grades K-4)
Students discover which foods and activities help create and maintain healthy bones. In
this exercise, they assemble a collage by looking through magazines and cutting out
pictures of calcium-rich food and activities that help keep bones healthy.
•
Sketch a Skeleton (Grades K-4)
Students understand the structure of the human skeletal system by building a life-size
representation. Note: This activity is best done after visiting the Bone Up On Bones
exhibit.
•
Bendy Bones (Grades 3-5)
Students develop an understanding of the importance of calcium for strong bones. In this
experiment, the calcium from a bone or eggshell dissolves in an acid solution (vinegar),
leaving the bone (or egg shell) weak or bendy.
•
Heavy Metal (Grades 5-8)
Students come to understand the composition of bones, what happens to bones as they
age, and how one can limit calcium loss. In this activity, students make artificial “sponge
bones” of different strength using plaster of Paris.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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Calcium Collage
Objective: To discover which foods and activities help create and maintain healthy bones.
SCIENCE TOPICS
PROCESS SKILLS
GRADE
Bones
Comparing and Contrasting
K-4
Nutrition
Predicting
(Sophisticated 4th graders
may prefer “Bendy Bones”)
NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS
National Science Education Standards, Chapter 6, Copyright © 1995 National Academy
of Sciences.
LIFE SCIENCE, Grades K - 4
•
Organisms have basic needs. For example, animals need air, water, and food; plants
require air, water, nutrients, and light. Organisms can survive only in environments in
which their needs can be met. The world has many different environments, and
distinct environments support the life of different types of organisms.
•
Each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth,
survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct body structures for
walking, holding, seeing, and talking.
•
SCIENCE IN SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE: PERSONAL HEALTH, Grades K - 4
•
Nutrition is essential to health. Students should understand how the body uses food
and how various foods contribute to health.
TIME REQUIRED
Advance Preparation
Set up
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
Activity
Clean Up
11
MATERIALS
•
•
•
•
•
Construction paper (enough for each student)
Glue
Scissors
Magazines for cutting
Calcium rich foods – milk, cheese, leafy green vegetables, tofu, yogurt, etc.
ADVANCE
PREPARATION
Cut pieces of construction paper into bone shapes.
Collect materials.
INTRODUCING
THE ACTIVITY
Do all living things have bones?
No, living things such as plants, bugs, spiders, and worms do not have bones. All
mammals, including humans, have bones for support, protection, and movement.
Without bones, we would fall to the ground and not be able to move.
What can we do to keep our bones healthy?
Note: Let the students speculate about what makes bones healthy. Some actual
examples are below. Students may know some or all of these examples.
• Eating calcium rich foods, such as milk or other dairy products, some fish,
dark green vegetables, tofu, etc.
• Eating foods that help us absorb calcium such as vitamin C (orange
juice), vitamin D (in milk or from sunshine).
• Weight bearing exercise such as walking, running, carrying things, lifting
weights.
• Getting outside during the day because the sun on our skin for a few
minutes each day helps our bodies to make vitamin D to help us absorb
calcium.
• Reducing the amount of foods that contain things that hinder the
absorption of calcium into your body. Foods that reduce calcium
absorption include oxalic acid (in chocolate).
• Reducing the amount of foods that contain things that cause you to lose
calcium from your body. Foods that increase the loss of calcium from the
body include phosphorus (very high in soft drinks) and extremely high
amounts of protein, like an exclusively meat diet.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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Many foods contain calcium. Talk about different calcium rich foods with your
students. As you talk about calcium rich foods, place the examples you have
(milk, cheese, tofu, leafy greens, yogurt, etc.) in front of the students so they can
see them. Pass out the supplies.
ACTIVITY
PROCEDURE
1. Look through the magazines and have the students cut out pictures of calcium
rich food and activities to help keep bones healthy.
2. Glue the cut out pictures to the paper bone.
DISCUSSION
What kinds of foods did you find?
Milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.
Was it easy or hard to find bone healthy foods advertised in the magazines?
Answers will vary with each student.
EXPLANATION
Calcium is a mineral that your body needs. Most of the calcium in your body
is stored in your bones and teeth and helps make them strong. People get the
calcium needed for healthy bones from the foods that we eat. Milk is one
good source since it is mostly calcium, milk sugar (lactose), and other
nutrients dissolved in water.
OPTIONAL
EXTENSIONS
•
Have students look up the calcium content of their favorite foods. (They could
bring in the product labels or look it up in books or on web sites.)
•
Students could visit a dairy, cheese, or ice cream factory to see where milk
comes from and how dairy products are made.
•
Have students work in pairs to trace their body outline onto a piece of butcher
paper. Students can then draw in the major bones of the body.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
13
CROSS
CURRICULAR
LINKS
Math
Students could conduct a survey of what calcium rich foods students like to eat and compare the
data.
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
Powerful Bones, Powerful Girls
http://www.cdc.gov/powerfulbones/index2.html
Got Milk
http://www.got-milk.com/better/
Food Pyramid Game
http://www.scottforesman.com/resources/health/hpyramid.html
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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Sketch a Skeleton
Objective: To understand the structure of the human skeletal system by building a life-size
representation. Note: This activity is best done after visiting the Bone Up On Bones exhibit.
SCIENCE TOPICS
PROCESS SKILLS
GRADE
Human Body
Observing
K-4
Sophisticated 3rd and 4th
Skeletal System
graders prefer “Bendy Bones”
NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS
National Science Education Standards, Chapter 6, Copyright © 1995 National Academy
of Sciences.
LIFE SCIENCE, Grades K - 4
•
Each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth,
survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct body structures for
walking, holding, seeing, and talking.
TIME REQUIRED
Advance Preparation
Set up
Activity
Clean Up
MATERIALS
•
•
•
•
•
Books of the human skeletal system
X-rays if available
Butcher paper
Crayons, markers, etc.
Scissors
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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ADVANCE
PREPARATION
Cut one piece of butcher paper per student. Make all the pieces longer than the
tallest student.
Set out paper and crayon stations in the classroom. Make sure there is enough
room for each group to lie down on the ground.
INTRODUCING
THE ACTIVITY
Who can name some parts of their body? How about some part inside your body?
We have bones and muscles, blood, etc.
We have ears, eyes, hair, feet, hands, belly buttons, fingers, knees, etc., outside
our bodies. Inside our body we have a heart, lungs, stomach, brain, muscles,
bones, liver, etc. (Optional – have students sing and move with the “Head,
Fingers, Knees, and Toes” song.)
With all these body parts, which body part helps hold us together?
Our bones help give our bodies shape by providing places for the muscles to hold
onto and providing a safe area for delicate organs such as the brain (skull) and
the heart and lungs (ribs) to be.
Are all bones the same size? Are they all the same shape?
Some bones in our bodies are long while others are short. There are fewer bones
in the legs and arms but they are long, big bones. The longest bone in the human
body is the thighbone, or the femur. Your fingers and feet have many bones in
them but they are very small. The smallest bones in the body are found in your
ear! In general, the more flexible an area is, the more bones there are. Imagine
how hard it would be to write or color a picture if you had long, solid bones for
fingers. Also, not all bones are straight like your finger and leg bones. Can you
think of some bones that are not straight (ribs and cranium)? These curved bones
help to protect delicate organs.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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ACTIVITY
PROCEDURE
1. Break the class into groups of two. Depending upon your class, it might be best to pair up
boys with boys and girls with girls.
2. Have the pairs find a spot on the floor.
3. Have one student lie down on the floor on top of the butcher paper, with their legs and
arms out to the edge of the paper, while the other student uses a crayon to trace around
their body.
4.
Label the outline with the student’s name.
5.
Repeat with the other partner.
6. Using books with pictures of the skeleton, draw the major bones – arms, legs, ribs, hips,
vertebrae, and skull onto the paper outline. Add simple drawings of hands and feet.
7. Have students cut the outline of their body out.
8. Cut the body into pieces creating a puzzle.
DISCUSSION
Does my puzzle look like me?
How is it the same, how is it different?
EXPLANATION
Our skeleton is made up of over 200 bones. Together, these bones support
our body, help us move, and protect our organs. As you grow, your bones
grow with you becoming larger and stronger. To help your bones grow, it is
important to eat food high in calcium such as milk, cheese, and green
vegetables.
OPTIONAL
EXTENSIONS
•
Students can label the major bones of their skeleton.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
17
•
Cut X-rays into pieces to make a more detailed puzzle.
•
Students can assemble a plastic skeleton model.
CROSS
CURRICULAR
LINKS
Language Arts
Have students read, or read aloud, books about skeletons:
Eyewitness: Skeleton
By Steve Parker, Philip Dowell
Magic Color Skeleton: Incredible Animal Discovery
By Shaheen Bilgrami, Treve Tamblin, Mike Phillips
The Skeleton Inside You (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
By Philip Balestrino
Skeleton Hiccups
By Margery Cuyler, S.D. Schindler
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
Mr. Bones
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/halloween/bones/template.shtml
The eSkeleton
http://wnt.utexas.edu/%7Eeskeletons/
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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Bendy Bones
Objective: To understand the importance of calcium for strong bones.
SCIENCE TOPICS
PROCESS SKILLS
GRADE
Human Body
Hypothesizing
3-5
Nutrition
Observing
Grades 6 – 8 may do this as a
Predicting
supplement to “Heavy Metal”
Questioning
NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS
National Science Education Standards, Chapter 6, Copyright © 1995 National Academy
of Sciences.
LIFE SCIENCE, Grades K – 4
•
Organisms have basic needs. For example, animals need air, water, and food; plants
require air, water, nutrients, and light. Organisms can survive only in environments in
which their needs can be met. The world has many different environments, and
distinct environments support the life of different types of organisms.
•
Each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth,
survival, and reproduction. For example, humans have distinct body structures for
walking, holding, seeing, and talking.
LIFE SCIENCE, Grades 5 – 8
•
The human organism has systems for digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation,
excretion, movement, control and coordination, and for protection from disease.
These systems interact with one another.
•
All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and
maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external
environment.
SCIENCE IN SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE: PERSONAL HEALTH, Grades K - 4
•
Nutrition is essential to health. Students should understand how the body uses food
and how various foods contribute to health.
SCIENCE IN SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE: PERSONAL HEALTH, Grades 5 – 8
•
Food provides energy and nutrients for growth and development. Nutrition
requirements vary with body weight, age, sex, activity, and body functioning.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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TIME REQUIRED
Overall activity takes about
two weeks
Advance Preparation
Set up
Activity
Clean Up
MATERIALS
•
•
•
•
Dish washing detergent and water
Plain vinegar (about 8 oz. per student–enough to cover half an egg shell or
bone in a jar)
Small jars with lids (large enough to fit a bone or egg shells)
Paper towels
Option A:
• Chicken bones
Option B:
• Brief access to a microwave
• Eggshell
ADVANCE
PREPARATION
Collect enough bones or eggshells for each child to have one (or have students
work in groups and have one bone or eggshell for each group).
Gently soak or wash the bones or eggshells in dishwashing detergent to
eliminate the chance of contamination from Salmonella bacteria. If using
eggshells, microwave the empty egg carton for 10 seconds while the eggshells
are being washed so that any Salmonella will be killed before the clean
eggshells are returned to the carton for storage or transport.
Collect small jars, enough for one per child or group.
For each child or group, set out a jar with lid, a bone or eggshell, tape or
labels.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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INTRODUCING
THE ACTIVITY
How many bones are in the body? 206
Have you ever broken a bone? Or do you know someone who has broken a
bone?
You can compare the number of bones in your body to the number of
bones that you have broken. Students will very quickly realize that bones
do not break easily.
What makes bones strong?
Note: Let the students speculate about what makes bones strong. Some
actual examples are below. Students may know some or all of these
examples.
• Eating calcium rich foods, such as milk or other dairy products, some
fish, dark green vegetables, tofu, etc.
• Eating foods that help us absorb calcium such as vitamin C (orange
juice), vitamin D (in milk or from sunshine).
• Weight bearing exercise such as walking, running, carrying things,
lifting weights.
• Getting outside during the day because the sun on our skin for a few
minutes each day helps our bodies to make vitamin D to help us
absorb calcium.
• Reducing the amount of foods that contain things that hinder the
absorption of calcium into your body. Foods that reduce calcium
absorption include oxalic acid (in chocolate).
• Reducing the amount of foods that contain things that cause you to
lose calcium from your body. Foods that increase the loss of calcium
from the body include phosphorus (very high in soft drinks) and
extremely high amounts of protein, like an exclusively meat diet.
What is calcium? Where do you find calcium in your body? In the world
around you?
Calcium is a whitish mineral found in teeth, bones, eggshells, rocks, and
even water (the white ring in a bathtub). It is also found in many foods,
especially in milk, cheese, bones, and many dark green vegetables.
Explain to students that one of the things that makes our bones strong is a
mineral called calcium and it comes from some of the foods we eat.
We are going to put our bones, or eggshells, in vinegar (an acid!) and
observe.
What do you think will happen to the bone in vinegar?
Encourage students to make a hypothesis or prediction of what will
happen. Have them write down their hypothesis. Have them write why they
predicted what they did. If they have any previous knowledge about bones,
eggshells, or vinegar, have them write down what they know.
Bone Up On Bones Teacher’s Guide  OMSI 2004
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ACTIVITY
PROCEDURE
Option A. Experiment using Bones:
1. Label your jar with your name and the date.
2. Observe the bone and write your observations.
3. Put your bone in your jar.
4. Add vinegar until the bone is covered.
5. Screw the lid on tightly.
6. Wash your hands.
7. Observe the bone over two weeks. Write down your observations.
8. After two weeks remove the bone from the vinegar.
9. Observe the bone.
10. Record your observations in your journal.
11. Compare your observations to your observations of the bone before it was placed in
vinegar.
Option B. Experiment using Eggs:
1. Label your jar with your name and the date.
2. Observe the eggshell and write your observations.
3. Gently put your eggshell in your jar.
4. Add vinegar until it is covered.
5. Screw the lid on tightly.
6. Wash your hands.
7. Observe the eggshell over four days. Write down your observations.
8. After four days, carefully pour out the vinegar and replace with water.
9. Remove the eggshell and place on a paper towel.
10. Observe the eggshell.
11. Record your observations in your journal.
12. Compare your observations to your observations of the eggshell before it was placed in
vinegar.
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DISCUSSION
What is vinegar?
Acetic acid, it is used for cooking and cleaning.
What happened to your bone or egg? Did it do what you hypothesized or
predicted?
What changes did you observe?
What would happen if your bones dissolved or became bendy?
You would have trouble moving and standing straight.
What can you do to help keep your bones strong?
Eat foods full of calcium. Have the students make a list of foods high in
calcium. Have them check food labels, as well as other sources.
EXPLANATION
Calcium is found in many rocks, as well as eggshells, bones, and seashells.
Calcium can dissolve in water. When water rushes over calcium-rich rocks,
the calcium can dissolve in the water and the water becomes “hard water.”
Hard water can deposit the white calcium minerals into your bathtub,
causing a white ring to form on the inside of the tub.
Most of the calcium in your body is stored in your bones and teeth and helps
make them strong. You get the calcium to build strong bones from your diet.
Milk is one great source of calcium. Milk is mostly water with calcium, milk
sugar (lactose), and other nutrients dissolved in the water. That makes milk a
good source of dietary calcium.
In the experiment, the calcium from a bone or eggshell dissolved into the acid
solution (vinegar) leaving the bone (or eggshell) weak. Imagine if you did not
have enough calcium in your body to make strong bones. This can happen if
you eat very little calcium or if your diet is missing some nutrients that help
you absorb and use calcium. This is especially true if you are missing vitamin
D in your diet. Vitamin D can be found in certain foods, especially vitamin D
enriched milk. (Check your milk carton at home to see if it has vitamin D
added.) Vitamin D is also made by your body if you spend a few minutes
every day with a few inches of skin exposed to the sun (even on a rainy,
cloudy Oregon winter day, there is enough sun coming through the clouds to
help your body make vitamin D!) During the early days of the Industrial
Revolution, children had to work inside (out of the daylight) all day. Many of
these children were not able to use calcium to build strong bones because
they lacked vitamin D. The children ended up with a disease called rickets.
This disease is characterized by short, weak, bowed out, leg bones. As the
children would walk, their legs would bend under the weight. This disease
could not be reversed in adulthood.
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OPTIONAL
EXTENSIONS
•
Have students look up the calcium content of their favorite foods. (They could
bring in the product labels or look it up in books and web sites). Try the math
extension below.
CROSS
CURRICULAR
LINKS
Language Arts
Have students write descriptive stories about a character with bendy bones or all the places
calcium travels when it is washed off a rock in a streambed.
Social Studies
Have the students report on rickets and child labor in the Industrial Revolution.
Math
Have students calculate the calcium content of their diet for one or more days. Calculate the class
averages, find the mean, median, and mode. Have students determine the percentage they met of
the recommended daily allowance (1200 mg.) Graph the numbers for the class over time.
Art
Have students create a poster to encourage others to eat calcium-rich foods.
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
Powerful Bones, Powerful Girls
http://www.cdc.gov/powerfulbones/index2.html
Got Milk
http://www.got-milk.com/better/
Food Pyramid Game
http://www.scottforesman.com/resources/health/hpyramid.html
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Heavy Metal
Objective: Students will understand the composition of bones, what happens to bones as they
age, and how one can limit calcium loss.
SCIENCE TOPICS
PROCESS SKILLS
GRADE
Human Body, Skeletal System
Comparing and Contrasting
5-8
Nutrition
Controlling Variables
This is also good as a teacher-
Minerals
Formulating Models
lead demonstration for
Graphing
grades 3 - 4
Hypothesizing
Inferring
Interpreting Data
Measuring
Observing
Predicting
Questioning
NATIONAL SCIENCE STANDARDS
National Science Education Standards, Chapter 6, Copyright © 1995 National Academy
of Sciences.
LIFE SCIENCE, Grades 5 - 8
•
The human organism has systems for digestion, respiration, reproduction, circulation,
excretion, movement, control and coordination, and for protection from disease.
These systems interact with one another.
•
All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and
maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external
environment.
SCIENCE IN SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE: PERSONAL HEALTH, Grades 5 - 8
•
Food provides energy and nutrients for growth and development. Nutrition
requirements vary with body weight, age, sex, activity, and body functioning.
SCIENCE AS INQUIRY, Grades 5 - 8
•
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry.
•
Understandings about scientific inquiry.
•
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TIME REQUIRED
Overall activity takes about
three days
Advance Preparation
Set up
Activity*
Clean Up
* plus two days drying
time
MATERIALS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Slightly moist sponges (not dry and brittle) enough for 3 cm. by 8 cm. (1.2 in.
by 3.2 in.) sections for each student or group of students. It is important that
all students use the same type and size of sponge so that comparisons can be
made.
Scissors
Masking tape, labels, or permanent markers
Plaster of Paris
Measuring cups
Tablespoons
16-oz. disposable mixing containers, one for each student or group of students
(e.g., yogurt or cottage cheese containers)
Water
Stirring sticks, one for each student or group of students
Weighing scale
Old newspapers to protect work space
ADVANCE
PREPARATION
Collect supplies.
Practice the experiment if you have not done so before.
Prepare a table on the board, chartpak, overhead, or another shared location.
At the table assign various quantities of plaster of Paris to each student or
group of students. For example:
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Student Group
Group 1: Joey, Ross, and
Chandler
Group 2: Monica, Phoebe, and
Rachel
Group 3: George W., Bill, and
Ronald
Group 4: Hillary, Tipper, and
Laura
Group 5: Peter, Paul, and
Mary
Group 6: Hawkeye, B.J., and
Radar
Amount of
Plaster of Paris
in 8 oz. (1 cup) of
water
1 tbsp.
Weight of Dry,
Hardened Sponge
Bone (in grams)
3.75 (our sample
data, do not enter)
Weight Bone
Supports Before It
Breaks or Cracks
(in grams)
1800 (our sample
data, do not enter)
2 tbsp.
3 tbsp.
4 tbsp.
9.5 (our sample
data, do not enter)
3000 (our sample
data, do not enter)
14.5 (our sample
data, do not enter)
3500 (our sample
data, do not enter)
6 tbsp.
8 tbsp.
CAUTION: Plaster of Paris should not be rinsed or disposed of in sinks
because it can harden and clog the plumbing.
INTRODUCING
THE ACTIVITY
If bones are made of mineral, like we find in heavy metals, why are they so light?
If our skeleton was a steel frame, like a building or a bridge, we would seldom
break our bones. On the other hand, we would weigh too much to move easily.
Minerals do play an important role in structure of the body, but the main skeletal
minerals, calcium and phosphorus, are deposited in a spongy matrix that provides
strength without being too heavy. Birds’ bones are even lighter and spongier to
help them fly.
How do we build up calcium in our bones?
There are several ways to build strong bones.
1. Eat foods with a lot of calcium, such as dairy products, some fish, and some
dark green vegetables.
2. Eat foods that help us to absorb calcium from our foods, such as vitamin C,
lactose, and vitamin D.
3. Do regular weight-bearing exercise, like weight lifting or walking.
How do we lose calcium from our bones?
Minerals in our bodies serve many purposes beyond structure and strength. For
example, calcium regulates the transport of important substances in cells,
including nerve cells. Calcium also is part of collagen, the glue that holds cells
together. And calcium plays a role in blood clotting and heart regulation.
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Whenever the body needs calcium for these important roles, it pulls calcium out of
the bones. This weakens the bones if the calcium is not replaced. Under normal
conditions, calcium is going in and out of our bones all the time. During
pregnancy a woman typically loses more than 2% of the calcium from her leg
bone in order to supply the growing baby with enough calcium.
There is another way to lose calcium--to pee it out. Because calcium functions as
a partner with phosphorus in the body, where calcium goes, phosphorus is
involved. So, if your diet is too high in phosphorus from soft drinks (diet or
regular) or a high meat diet, the body will need to excrete (pass in the urine) the
extra phosphorus. It will excrete calcium at the same time because calcium and
phosphorus travel and function together in the body. This loss of minerals from
our bones will weaken our bones if we are not taking in plenty of calcium in our
diet.
In this activity we are going to make artificial bones of different strengths by
adding mixtures of plaster of Paris into a sponge and letting them harden.
Like bones, plaster of Paris is a calcium-based substance (calcium sulfate),
which forms a hard cement when water is added. Plaster of Paris got its
name because it was first developed near Paris, France. Carefully record the
concentrations of plaster of Paris you use and carefully weigh your sponge
bones before you test their ability to hold weight. The data you collect will be
used to draw some conclusions about the strength of bones compared to their
mineral content.
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ACTIVITY
PROCEDURE
1. Line your workspace with newspaper (about 10 sheets thick).
2. Label your lab notebook or data sheet with your name, the date, and the amount of plaster of
Paris you have been assigned to add to your sponge “bone.” Create a data collection table in
your lab notebook or on your data sheet. (You can see the teacher’s data table for an
example.)
3. Cut a 3-centimeter (1.2 inches) by 8-centimeter (3.2 inches) rectangle from your sponge. This
will be your “sponge bone.”
4. Label a 16-oz. or larger disposable container with your name, the date, and the quantity of
plaster of Paris you have been assigned.
5. Measure 8 oz. (1 cup) of water into your container.
6. Measure your assigned quantity of plaster of Paris into your container and stir.
7. If your solution has settled at all, stir the solution again. Then submerge the sponge bone in
the solution for 15 seconds. At this time, invert the sponge (turn it over) in the solution and let
it sit another 15 seconds.
8. Remove and set on the newspaper to dry for 48 hours (over the weekend works well).
9. Do not dump your plaster of Paris solution. Instead, let the plaster of Paris dry in your
container, pour off the liquid on top, and then dispose of the cup and dried solid in the trash.
CAUTION: Plaster of Paris should not be rinsed or disposed of in sinks
because it can harden and clog the plumbing.
10. When the bone is dry, weigh it and record the weight on the class table and on the table in
your lab notebook or on your data sheet.
11. Move two desks or flat surfaces close together so that they are about 2 ½ inches (about 7 cm.)
apart. Position your dried sponge so that it bridges the gap between the desks, with an equal
amount of sponge on each surface.
12. Test the amount of weight your bone can support without cracking or breaking by suspending
an empty gallon milk jug from the bone “bridge” with a string. Does the bone break?
13. Next, add one cup of water at a time to the milk jug, making observations of your bone after
each addition. Continue adding water until the bone cracks or breaks. Write the results on the
class table and on the table in your lab notebook or on your data sheet.
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DISCUSSION
Which sponge bones broke the most easily?
Were there any unexpected results? If so, why do you think they occurred?
Note that students may have measured wrong, let things dry for different
amounts of time, or somehow conducted their trials differently. Any
change in variables can impact the results. Discuss how to answer
questions that remain (more trials, control variables, etc.)
How might this be similar to real bones?
Persons with insufficient calcium in their bones often suffer from fragile,
brittle, easily broken bones. Examples include bones formed with
insufficient calcium in the diet (osteomalacia), insufficient absorption of
calcium due to lack of vitamin D (rickets), or loss of calcium, especially in
old age, due to low calcium diets or low weight-bearing activity over
many years (osteoporosis.) It is common for older people to suffer from
broken bones, especially hipbones, due to osteoporosis. The doctors often
say that the person’s bone broke, and then they fell. That is because the
impact on a weak, brittle bone during walking can actually break the bone
of a person with osteoporosis, causing them to fall. Another sign of
osteoporosis can be a hunched back from the backbone weakening.
Does anyone know an older person who has broken a hipbone?
EXPLANATION
When we age, the minerals that are part of our bones are depleted making
them more porous, less dense, and more brittle. Our bones become less heavy
and less strong. This activity demonstrates a model of the physiology of bones
and can be used to compare the strength of bones when the amount of
calcium in the bones is decreased. In older individuals, it is common for
bones to lose calcium if the diet is insufficient in calcium over many years.
The body responds to low dietary calcium by pulling calcium from the bones
to maintain the needed calcium levels in the rest of the body. As a result,
women often lose bone density with each pregnancy as the calcium is pulled
from the pregnant mother’s bones to build bones and teeth in the growing
baby. Similarly, bone density will be lost if a person eats a diet with a lower
than needed calcium level for an extended time. As a result, older people
often have weak bones that break easily, and they often have stooped
shoulders as their weak bones sag. An average person will say, “My poor
grandmother fell down and broke her hip!” Doctors sometimes say, “My
patient broke her bone and then she fell,” meaning that the hipbone was so
weak that the impact of walking caused it to break, thus causing the elderly
person to fall.
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OPTIONAL
EXTENSIONS
•
Do the experiment “Bendy Bones” to see what happens to the bone when the
calcium is removed.
•
Show students X-rays and scans of healthy bones versus bones of older
people.
CROSS
CURRICULAR
LINKS
Social Science
Students could research osteoporosis, rickets, or osteomalacia and its affects.
Math
Have students graph the data and transform it into different charts. Have them convert
measurements between English and Metric systems.
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES
Bones, Muscles, and Joints
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body_basics/bones_muscles_joints_p2.html
Medical Encyclopedia: Aging changes in the bones - muscles - joints
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004015.htm
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